Ash & Bone: A Frank Elder Mystery (Frank Elder Mysteries) Paperback – December 4, 2006

A bit on the dark side, but not too much, and that's what you should expect from a John Harvey novel.

John Harvey would rank in my top-ten all time best crime writers if, and only if, he would keep his music references in the period being described. They drive me crazy. BUT, his stories are truly wonderful, his characters memorable and eerie. If you love Ian Rankin, you'll love this writer. Considering his publication dates, I'm guessing he influenced Rankin. Highly recommended with a caution. He loves 60s music, and makes every character love it, too. Sigh.

John Harvey has found his voice again; his new character, Frank Elder, has become as rich and deep as Charlie Resnick. Harvey weaves a number of mysteries in Ash & Bone that intersect in unpredictable and interesting places. As in his first Elder novel, Frank runs into a now retired Resnick well along in the book and for a page or two they make the bridge to the wonderful Resnick series. A very satisfying read!

believe I ordered this thinking I was getting the guy who writes Ian Ranking or some other detective character. Harvey frequently provides stretches of good writing, but the 'Hamish' bit becomes so boring. usually like stories set between the wars but never feel the 20th century with this author.

A police procedural with several simultaneously unfolding plot lines, Ash and Bone is full of twists and turns, surprises and shocks, certain to keep mystery lovers reading well into the night. Complex and well developed, it features almost forty characters--police, crooks, and police who may be crooks, along with their lovers and families. Ostensibly "a Frank Elder mystery," Elder himself does not play a major role at the beginning of the novel. Instead the focus is on Maddy Birch, a detective sergeant in Serious and Organized Crime, who is on a bust with Paul Draper, a young detective constable, trying to apprehend James William Grant, a man accused of armed robbery, money laundering, drug dealing, and extortion, when things go very wrong.Detective Inspector Frank Elder, retired from the Nottinghamshire force and now living the life of a semi-recluse in Cornish, is persuaded to help in the internal investigation of Grant's death. Maddy Birch is someone he has known for years and has cared about. Separated from his wife for several years, Elder blames himself, in part, for his daughter's abduction, rape, and violent assault when she was in her early teens. As Frank tries to reconnect with this estranged daughter, he is, at the same time, investigating the Grant case and the people involved in it.Karen Shields, detective chief inspector of Homicide West, initially does not want to talk with Frank, but they become confidantes as three separate plot lines unfold--the story of Maddy and the death of Grant; the story of Frank's daughter Katherine and her lover Rob Summers, who becomes the subject of a police investigation for drugs; and the story of a rogue police detective who may have much to hide--someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his own, mostly financial, interests.A gritty police procedural, Ash and Bone tracks several characters who have connections to more than one plot line--involving drugs, prostitution, and graft--creating suspense and dramatic tension as new information is revealed about each of these characters and their behavior. Eventually, characters become linked to "cold cases," and the horror of their betrayals of the public trust creates even more suspense as the implications regarding Elder's cases become obvious.Lovers of police procedurals will find this novel a classic of the genre. Realistic, often depressing because of the venality of some of the players, but carefully constructed within a tight narrative structure, Ash and Bone offers much to intrigue admirers of character development, at the same time that it keeps the tension high with plot twists and new characters. Though Elder himself is not fully developed here, the "bones" that author Harvey has created will allow further development in future novels. Complex, the plot keeps the reader fascinated, and all "loose ends" are eventually resolved. n Mary Whipple

Detective Inspector Frank Elder is adjusting to an isolated life in Cornwall, his attachments pared down to the necessities. Frank has good reason to retreat, his marriage in shambles, his sixteen-year old daughter, Katherine, abducted, raped and almost killed the year before. After Katherine's horrendous ordeal, recriminations fill the air and poison the marriage, Frank's relationship with his daughter deteriorating as well. In Cornwall, Frank seeks comfort in solitude, until a phone call from ex-wife Joanne informs him that Katherine has been acting out, no doubt a reaction to her traumatic experience. Frank volunteers to return to London and see what he can do, although his daughter has refused contact with him for months. Meanwhile, in the heart of London, Detective Maddy Birch is instrumental in taking down James William Grant, a dangerous criminal who is killed at the hands of another officer. After Grant is killed, Maddy's instincts are still on high alert, giving off warning signals, a vague sense of threat following her even into the safe retreat of her home. Like Frank, Birch is a pro, not given to hysteria.Frank discreetly follows his intractable daughter, while Detective Birch is even more convinced that someone is stalking her, her nerves frazzled from the inquiry over Grant's death at the hands of another officer. Soon afterwards Frank receives another jarring phone call, this one not from Joanne, but the department, a chilling report that draws him out of retirement in Cornwall and back to the job he left behind. In London, Elder is quickly engaged in another investigation with Detective Chief Inspector Karen Shields, who grudgingly accepts the aid offered by the seasoned veteran, on the trail of a rapist who has moved from fantasy to action. Yet Elder remains intrigued by Grant's untimely killing, the arrest in which Maddy is so instrumental. As in any thorough investigation, the detectives follow every clue, sure of their direction, but plagued by doubts as well. To further complicate matters, Elder's daughter runs afoul of the law, unmoored since the violence she barely survived, her rebellion drawing Frank closer in an effort to help his damaged child.The attraction between Elder and Shields, who is black, adds spice to an already interesting story line, their unexpected relationship injecting an element of humor that is so often ignored in the ongoing drama of police work. With Frank still reeling from his acrimonious divorce and worries over his daughter, Karen Shields is the perfect antidote, a professional woman, but refreshingly candid and ethical. In Ash & Bone, a sexual predator, dirty cops and a sting all combine to make Frank Elder's return an enjoyable read, Frank attaining a level of rapprochement with the troubled Katherine, his recent misfortune greatly alleviated by Karen Shields' excellent police work and refusal to take him too seriously. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

A year or so ago, I discovered John Harvey as a writer by mistake -- I thought I was buying a thriller by Ian Rankin's Nom de Plume, Jack Harvey! But I wasn't disappointed. He and Ian Rankin (in his Rebus crime novels) have certain similarities in their styles of gritty realism and that their main characters are Detective Inspectors (retired in the case of Harvey's Frank Elder) who are loners with broken marriages and daughters who have been kidnapped in the past.Ash and Bone starts with a riveting first chapter that is the spring-board to a gripping central murder story about which two other narratives intertwine. Consequently, there are quite a few characters to keep track of, but by the end of the book the threads are all brought together very satisfactorily.

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I discovered John harvey and then bought them all THe Frank elder series is great couldnt wait for the next one

Very difficult to follow plot, not sure why but I lost interest in this book half way through then it picked up again nearer the end.

i really enjoyed reading this book the plot was easy to follow and kept me interested right to the end